Rams to honor Deacon Jones with helmet decal

Deacon Jones, the Hall of Famer who died in June at the age of 74, will be honored throughout the 2013 season with a helmet decal with his No. 75 that all Rams players will wear.

The Rams will also recognize members of Jones’s family at their opener on September 8.

“Deacon Jones was a legend who was cherished by generations of NFL fans and players,” Rams COO Kevin Demoff said in a statement. “Our team is proud to wear his number on our helmets throughout the season to honor his meaning to this organization.”

Jones was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1961 and played 11 years for the franchise. Widely regarded as one of the best players in NFL history, Jones was the first person to use the term “sack” to mean tackling the quarterback; he compared his role in rushing the passer to the role of destroyers sacking a vanquished land.

Seriously, how many career sacks would Deacon Jones have had if they had been compiling sack numbers throughout his career? I think it’s safe to say he would still own the record. The man was an absolute beast at rushing the QB!

It is a good show for a great player. I’d give anything to know exactly how many sacks he had in his career or at least in a season.

8man says:Aug 23, 2013 10:54 PM

It’s the right thing to do. So many players get lost when teams move. It’s not a city history it’s a franchise history, built by players and former owners. Now roll out the white and blue unis in a game.

fdugrad says:Aug 23, 2013 11:29 PM

rhabdodontidae: Well said. I couldn’t agree more. It kind of reminds me of The Bears who haven’t retired Mike Ditka’s number yet. A poster on PFT recently told me the are finally going to do it this December. Both of these omissions regarding HUGE stars for the respective organizations are absurd.